I had the opportunity to intern as a software developer for a derivatives trading company in Chicago from July – December 2021. This blog post will cover some advice and things that I learned that helped me make the most of my internship.
Set limits on problem solving
As an intern you will likely face challenges and run into problems. Early on in my internship, I did not want to inconvenience other team members by asking too many questions so I spent a lot of time trying to solve problems on my own. While this is valuable experience, I was missing out on the experience, training, and mentorship that my team could offer. As an intern I found that setting time limits on solving problems allowed me to strike a balance between learning how to figure things out on my own, and getting the most out of my internship. I would set a timer for 30 minutes, an hour, or several hours depending on how complex the problem was and at the end of that time if I had not found a solution, I would ask for help. This allowed my team to see my thought process and what I had tried so far, and prevented me from spending all day on a problem that they were able to quickly help me with.
Schedule weekly meetings with your mentor
I scheduled a weekly meeting with my mentor to go over my progress, talk about future plans, and ask questions. These meetings helped keep me on track and were a good way for me to batch my questions together. If I had an urgent question I could easily ask my mentor in person on on Teams, but I found that keeping a running list of non-urgent questions to ask during my weekly meetings was an efficient way to get them answered and minimize interruptions. The frequent meetings also gave my mentor a chance to provide course corrections before I strayed too far off. I would outline my plans for how I would solve a particular problem, or what I was going to work on next week and he would provide feedback and help prioritize my work.
Learn other areas of the company
I sat in on the training program that the company had for trading interns and new hires. Although I was not planning on becoming a derivatives trader, if I stayed on at the company I would be writing software to support the traders, and a basic understanding of trading would come in handy. It was also a good way to meet other people in the company and get a better understanding of the company as a whole.
Have fun
My focus during working hours was to improve my skills as a software developer and hopefully get a job offer at the end of my internship. The internship was also an opportunity to meet new people and explore a new city. Make sure you enjoy your time off work and find things you like to do to recharge.
